The Congressional Budget Office is out with its latest report on the Affordable Care Act, and here are a few bottom lines:

— The ACA is cheaper than it expected.

— It will “markedly increase” the number of Americans with health insurance.

— The risk-adjustment provisions, which Congressional Republicans want to overturn as a “bailout” of the insurance industry, will actually turn a profit to the U.S. Treasury.

…. The ACA will increase the number of Americans with health insurance by 13 million this year, 20 million next year, and 25 million a year from then through 2024. Some 80% of those enrollees will be receiving federal subsidies to keep their coverage affordable.

There will be fewer uninsured people living in the United States, and most of those with individual coverage will be getting help to pay for it. Is there another other conclusion to draw from those statistics than the Affordable Care Act is working?

The Post’s Glenn Kessler today published a fact-checking post breaking some news: No, he wrote, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) never, ever reported that Obamacare would somehow or other kill more than 2 million U.S. jobs.

Okay, to say that Kessler broke this news is a rhetorical exaggeration to highlight the point that many-o-many media outlets misconstrued the CBO findings. For a while this morning, the Internet was hopping with job-killing hype, when in fact the truth was vastly different. Obamacare’s impact, the CBO concluded, would lessen the supply of labor by encouraging certain folks not to work: “The estimated reduction stems almost entirely from a net decline in the amount of labor that workers choose to supply, rather than from a net drop in businesses’ demand for labor, so it will appear almost entirely as a reduction in labor force participation and in hours worked. . . .”

For someone approaching retirement, notes Kessler, Obamacare could well mean that they needn’t hold onto a bad job just to keep health insurance. That’s a far different dynamic from job-killing.

If Republican press releases and reports from conservative and major media outlets are any indication, the Congressional Budget Office’s findings on the Affordable Care Act are simply brutal. National Review, which probably published its report before actually looking at the CBO’s findings, ran this headline: “The CBO Just Nuked Obamacare.”

As we discussed earlier, the coverage has been profoundly misleading. Despite what Americans are being told, the CBO did not find that the health care reform law would cost the nation over 2 million jobs. What it actually said is that the law will empower more than 2 million Americans to leave the workforce if they want to, no longer feeling forced to stay at a job in order to have benefits for them and their family.

On Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office projected that The Affordable Care Act will reduce the number of full-time workers by 2.3 million in 2021, leading critics to seize on the claim as evidence that the health care law is undermining job growth.

But that’s not what the CBO actually said. In fact, CBO economists write that “[t]he estimated reduction [in labor] stems almost entirely from a net decline in the amount of labor that workers choose to supply, rather than from a net drop in businesses’ demand for labor.” Americans won’t be losing their jobs, but people who are only working to maintain access to their employer sponsored health insurance plans will be able to leave the workforce or work fewer hours because they can obtain coverage elsewhere. That’s a goal that prominent Republicans, conservative think tanks and policy analysts have supported for years…..

A new report finds that between 2008 and 2011, the abortion rate hit its lowest point since 1973, when Roe v. Wade declared access to the procedure a Constitutional right.

The rate fell 13 percent to 16.9 per 1,000 women in 2011, down from its peak of 29.3 per 1,000 in 1981.

While conservatives want to claim credit for the decline with onerous restrictions on a woman’s right to choose, the availability of contraception and family planning deserve most of the credit, according to the Guttmacher Institute’s Rachel Jones, the lead author of the study.

A new report released Tuesday says the government’s budget deficit is set to fall to $514 billion for the current year, down substantially from last year and the lowest by far since President Barack Obama took office five years ago. The Congressional Budget Office report credits higher tax revenues from the rebounding economy and sharp curbs on agency spending as the chief reason for the deficit’s short-term decline.

Last year’s deficit registered $680 billion. Obama inherited an economy in crisis and first-ever deficits exceeding $1 trillion. The 2009 deficit, swelled by the costs of the Wall Street bailout, hit a record $1.4 trillion, while the deficits of 2010 and 2011 both registered $1.3 trillion. The report predicted the economy will continue to rebound this year and grow at a 3.1 percent rate and by 3.4 percent next year. It foresees the jobless rate holding steady at 6.8 percent this year; the most recent nationwide unemployment rate registered 6.7 percent.

Team Wendy just landed an all-star running back. Former Dallas Cowboys running back and NFL MVP Emmitt Smith donated $10,000 to the committee backing Wendy Davis’s campaign for Texas governor last month. According to campaign filings, the CEO of EJSmith Enterprises donated the money on Jan. 8 to Texas Victory Committee, a joint effort from Wendy Davis for Governor and Battleground Texas, a group that supports Democrats in the state.

As of yesterday, House Republicans were torn, Sophie’s Choice-style, over what to demand in return for lifting the debt ceiling to accommodate the budget they passed. (Caveat: I’ve never seen Sophie’s Choice; I assume it’s a movie about a bungling kidnapper who has to choose what ransom she should demand.) One option was the Keystone XL pipeline. The other was the risk corridor provision in Obamacare, which they falsely call a “bailout.”

Here’s what happened next. First, the Congressional Budget Office released its annual budget report, and, among other things, it utterly annihilated the premise that there is any such thing as an “Obamacare bailout.” Having seen their imaginary claim conclusively debunked, Republicans are now leaning toward demanding its repeal anyway…

…. Today’s report projects that the bungled launch will mean enrollment in the exchanges will collapse all the way from seven million people to … six million people. Now, the number of people in the plan isn’t the only or best measure of its success, but it is a measure critics have seized upon. The existence of the nefarious Obamacare Bailout was a second reason – as the House Republican hearing asks, why the need for a bailout, if not to save a doomed law? There’s no reason why the lack of an Obamacare bailout should prevent conservatives from feeling anger at it anyway.

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan has been engaged in secret contacts with the Taliban about reaching a peace agreement without the involvement of his American and Western allies, further corroding already strained relations with the United States.

The secret contacts appear to help explain a string of actions by Mr. Karzai that seem intended to antagonize his American backers, Western and Afghan officials said. In recent weeks, Mr. Karzai has continued to refuse to sign a long-term security agreement with Washington that he negotiated, insisted on releasing hardened Taliban militants from prison and distributed distorted evidence of what he called American war crimes.

The clandestine contacts with the Taliban have borne little fruit, according to people who have been told about them. But they have helped undermine the remaining confidence between the United States and Mr. Karzai, making the already messy endgame of the Afghan conflict even more volatile. Support for the war effort in Congress has deteriorated sharply, and American officials say they are uncertain whether they can maintain even minimal security cooperation with Mr. Karzai’s government or its successor after coming elections.

DeadSpin: Now A Champion, Richard Sherman Deals With An Insult In The Best Way

Colin Kaepernick had an excellent method of dealing with people who hated him by favoriting their anger on Twitter. Seahawks corner Richard Sherman—now a Super Bowl champion—handled an angry Twitter person in a less passive but equally fantastic way.

Bryce Covert: GM’s First Female CEO Will Make Half Of What Her Predecessor Made

In December, General Motors (GM) made headlines for picking Mary Barra to replace Dan Akerson as its new CEO. That meant she would not only be the first woman at the helm of the carmaker, but any global carmaker. But while she may have shattered that glass ceiling, her pay is another story. Looking at the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Elizabeth MacDonald notes that Barra will be paid $4.4 million in total compensation, which includes a base salary of $1.6 million.

Akerson, on the other hand, made an estimated $9 million, with a $1.7 million base salary and $7.3 million in stock. That means Barra will make less than half of what he made. In fact, Akerson will continue to make more as her, as GM will pay him $4.68 million as an outside senior adviser.Worse, Barra comes to the job with an outsized amount of previous experience. She’s been with the company since 1980 and was most recently serving as senior vice president of global product development. Akerson, on the other hand, came into the role without a background running a car company

Caitlin McNeal: WaPo Rebuts Its Own Columnist On Claim That Obamacare Is Killing Jobs

The Affordable Care Act is killing jobs, or not, depending on which portion of the Washington Post you read on Tuesday. The paper’s conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin wrote that Obamacare was “killing jobs and squelching growth” based on a newly released CBO report.

However, the report notes that the reduction in hours worked by Americans will “almost entirely” be due to workers’ choice to leave the work force — not because they lost their jobs or can’t find a full-time job. Glenn Kessler, the Post’s “Fact Checker,” followed up a few hours later giving the claim made by Rubin and other news organizations three Pinocchios out of four.

Josh Barro: The Buried Lede In The CBO Report: Obamacare Will Raise Wages

Obamacare will drive wages up. The price of labor, like any good or service, is determined by supply and demand. If producers of labor (workers) become less inclined to sell it, but consumers of labor (firms) are unchanged in their interest in buying, then the price of labor has to rise in order to bring the quantity supplied and the quantity demanded into line. If (as CBO predicts) the decline in work is driven almost entirely by a decline in labor supply, the upshot will be very different. Employers will be left holding the bag economically. Workers will choose to work fewer hours; since firms won’t be any less interested in hiring, they’ll have to pay more per hour to get those workers in the door.

The positive wage effect should be concentrated among low-skill workers, who will face the greatest discouragement to work from Obamacare, and therefore will be able to command the greatest wage increases in order to keep working. More broadly, Obamacare alters the employer-employee relationship in a way that empowers employees. When an employee is dependent on his job not just for a wage but for health insurance, he is less able to threaten to leave if he doesn’t get a raise. Severing the work-insurance link strengthens the employee’s hand in bargaining — which is bad for employers and good for workers.

Sen. Barack Obama and Michelle Obama during a Super Tuesday primary campaign rally at the Hyatt Hotel in Chicago, February 5, 2008

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The President is applauded by House Democrats as he is introduced to speak at the House Democrats Issues Conference at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va, Feb. 5, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama wears a AF1 jacket on his first flight aboard Air Force One from Andrews Air Force Base to Newport News, Va., Feb. 5. 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama talks with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in the Oval Office, Feb. 5, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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President Obama shows Washington, D.C. area students, who were featured in the Washington Post, the valet button on his desk during their surprise visit to the Oval Office, Feb. 5, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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Feb. 5, 2011 – Pete Souza: “The two coaches for Sasha Obama’s basketball team couldn’t make it to one of her games, so the President and his then personal aide, Reggie Love, filled in as coaches for this game one Saturday. Here they along with Sasha’s teammates react during the game.”

Super-Bowl Champions Russell Wilson and The Seattle SeaHawks What Does Black Crow Taste Like boys?
By Desi Cortez Updated: February 4, 2014

Being a Black man, I have to ponder if my charges and claims of 1967 type Alabama racism being but an inch beneath the collective skin of million upon millions . . . upon millions of Euro-Americans, WASP . . . i.e. White people all across America still today are valid and legit. Internet sports media websites and sports talk radio seem to more-than confirm the hostility and anger bubbling beneath the surface.

Super Bowl 48 validated and confirmed what I’ve contended for most of my adult life . . . there’s little love for Black folks in this country. “Like” is even a term I’m reluctant to toss-around when it comes to “how” I believe most White folks honestly. truthfully, generally speaking feel about Black people. The term ‘respect” as in mutual respect is a concept I don’t believe most White folks, specifically Conservative (sexist/racist/ elitist) males refuse to entertain in relation to Blacks.

There’s virtually nothing we can do to , dig this . . . earn their respect.

Russell Wilson became the first QB to pass for at least 200 yards, 2 TDs and complete 70 percent of his passes, 3 runs for 26 yards, over 8 yards a carry on average . . . in a Super Bowl win without being named MVP. He had a 121 Qb rating . . . . Russell Wilson is the fourth quarterback to win a Super Bowl in his second NFL season, joining only Kurt Warner, Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger. Wilson, who has an NFL-record 28 wins in his first two pro seasons, and he threw no interceptions in the playoffs – nonetheless it’s as if he’s a sidebar/side note.

David Wildstein was the first person ever named director of interstate capital projects at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. And he will be the last.

The Newark Star-Ledger reported Wednesday that the Port Authority has abolished the position, which Wildstein resigned from last year amid mounting pressure surrounding his involvement in the George Washington Bridge lane closures.

Wildstein was hired in 2010 by Bill Baroni, who was then serving as the Port Authority’s deputy executive director. Baroni had been appointed to the role by Gov. Chris Christie (R), and he followed Wildstein out the door last year.

The Port Authority declined to tell the Star-Ledger why Wildstein’s former position had been eliminated.

Hopefully, the athletes won’t be the ones bearing the brunt of the negative associations – after all, this is not of their doing and they will probably have other events (and Olympics) after this year. I think that Russia and Putin will rightfully bear the brunt of the negative sentiment.

This shows that the House Republicans need to go, we can not sit home in November and allow them to keep control of the House, we have to fight to the bitter end. We must keep the Senate and work our butts off to get the House.

To be sure, these “climate hubs” are a fairly modest policy, intended to help a limited number of farmers adapt to changing conditions. But in the bigger picture, it’s also evidence of a sixth-year president eager to do something fairly specific with his power: lead.
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So here’s the question for the “lead more” pundits: doesn’t this count as presidential leadership, too? Or do Obama’s actions only count as leadership if he’s taking steps Republicans like?

O’Reilly thought he had really stunned everyone with his brilliance and made himself look good and the president bad…….ha, ha, Bill. The opposite happened. People saw through him, finally, and it boomeranged on him. About time! We know that because he is so loudly on the defensive. The President completed the faux interview, went on his way, has not looked back and has not mentioned it.
So glad to see Billo so upset. As to being a “Journalist” that’s a hoot. His hubris is beneath contempt!

This is in reaction to CVS not selling cigarrettes any more, as it goes against their company’s philosophy of promoting health. They will lose about $ 2 billion because of this. I truly admire a company that puts the health of its customers before profits. They should be commended. I will shop from them from now on.

Bobfr, you are like those icebreakers, the massive double-hulled ships which plow through the ice in the Arctic and Antartic, to make way for other ships to pass. It’s a metaphor, only, for as we all know, the polar ice is melting and breaking up far too fast. But in politics and in human advancement, the metaphor holds true – the ice is left from another age, and is changing rapidly. Thanks to people like you, who use your dedicated intelligence to speak for many, and never fail to be on point. Thank you. Bless you.

At least one Republican is setting the record straight on what the Congressional Budget Office actually said this week about Obamacare and its effect on jobs.

House Budget Chair Paul Ryan (R-WI) explained in a Wednesday hearing with CBO director Steven Elmendorf that the health care reform law wouldn’t cost the U.S. economy more than 2 million jobs, as many of his colleagues alleged, but that Americans would choose to work less.

“I want to make sure we accurately understand what it is you are saying,” Ryan said, before leading Elmendorf through a series of questions to explain the report and its findings.

Ryan and Elmendorf combined to explain that Obamacare would lead to a decrease in the number of hours worked by up to 2 percent in 2024. Most of that drop, the CBO said, would be the result of Americans choosing not to work, for various reasons, but not because employers would want to hire fewer workers on account of the law. Translate those lost hours into full-time employment and it equals up to 2.5 million jobs by 2024. But that’s not the same as jobs being cut.

“Just to understand, it is not that employers are laying people off,” Ryan said.

NEW YORK — Billie Jean King will not attend Friday’s opening ceremony of the Sochi Olympics in Russia because her mother is ill.

King was chosen in December to help lead the U.S. delegation to the Sochi Games. King has been outspoken in her opposition to Russia’s anti-gay law and had planned to attend ice hockey and figure skating events and meet U.S. athletes during her three-day visit to the games.

The media have been conditioned—like trained seals—-to respond in ways that benefit the GOP.
Stockholm Syndrome. Whatever they once might have believed, over time they are sucking up and apologizing on command.

So the CBO report is still terrible news for Democrats. Okay if you say so, I believe you. Not !! You are the same people who knew that this President would not win re-election, that is all we heard from the media, over and over and over and over again.

One of my fave Sochi photos so far today—–the others: the bee embedded in the honey served at breakfast—-bees!—Yum!—-crunchy! And the photo of the toilet seat put on upside down, with the lid on the bottom and the seat on top. Tricky!

p.s.—-if that reporter ever gets to make contact with his computer, I hope someone warned him that he will be hacked within a minute.

This leads to a fairly obvious question: if the policy is effective, and the policy was a Republican idea, why are Republicans all of a sudden pretending to be outraged by the measure four years after it became law?

The answer isn’t entirely clear – ascribing motives is always tricky business – but Kate Nocera noted last night that GOP lawmakers “see a political winner in their latest push to repeal the ‘risk corridor’ provision of Obamacare,” even if it’s a sound idea, even if Republicans came up with it, and even if the policy itself is scheduled to disappear entirely in 2016.

So the lying Republicans is at it again. Lying about what CBO said about Obamacare costing the economy 2 million jobs. For five years these same Republicans haven’t shown that they care about jobs, if they did care they would have been passing the President jobs bill. That would have put millions back to work, but that would have help that Obama, and they refuse to do that. But now they want to show that they care so much about those same Americans. Nothing but B.S.

Perhaps those who tweet should tweet this back to The Fix…..Chris whatyoumacallit and ask him or rather tell hin to read his OWN paper WashPost and their one Politifact. Their own Fact Check gave the TBGOPer CBO ACA 2M Job loss 3 Pinocchios.

Can we make this (a video of the non-partisan CBO director) – under a backdrop of prominent republicans lying a campaign video that should play in key states for the rest of the month(s). Clearly stating that they are lying (no more mis-stating bullshit). I am sick of these idiots (RWNJs and stupid media)